Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

I am a law enforcement officer using Word 2007 at home to edit/improve documents I developed in Word 2002-2003 and use at work (because they still use Word 2002-2003) . One of the documents I am trying to improve is an affidavit that supports a warrant. In the affidavit I would like to have evidence items listed (in a text field) repeated in the accompanying warrant (using a REF field command). The document I initially developed many years ago in Word 2002-2003 has worked in the past (evidence entered/listed in the affidavit automatically appeared in the warrant) but lately has not been working. I suspect my tweaking it here and there, (trying to improve it or refresh my memory on inserting fields) over the years may have undone some of the field set-up I did in the past. When I I try to test the document at home, to ascertain if it automatically copies over to the warrant page of the document nothing happens (the affidavit & warrant are in the same document & are separated by a new page section break).

At what point, or upon what event, are the fields automatically repeated elsewhere in the document (so that I may ascertain if I've set-up the fields correctly)?
Is it possible the problem/s I am experiencing are due to my use of Word 2007 (in compatibility mode) to work on a Word 2002-2003 document?
What does the text "MERGEFORMAT", that appears after the REF field name, mean in the field properties window?

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Each of the "source" form fields must have "Calculate on exit" ticked in its properties.
The "copies" must be REF fields, not an = field such as you have used on page 2 for the Evidence.
You have two fields that refer to SearchLocation in the Search Warrant part.
The * MERGEFORMAT switch only has to do with the formatting of the field, you can omit it safely.
The document must be protected for forms in order to make the "copies" update automatically when you enter something in the "source" form fields.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Hi Steve,

See if the modified attachment works better for you.

Without the the MERGEFORMAT switch in the field code, updating the field, may cause any formatting applied to the field to be lost. When you insert fields by using the Field dialog box, the MERGEFORMAT switch is included by default. Generally speaking, you can omit the MERGEFORMAT switch. Where you need to control the formatting, the CHARFORMAT switch often gives better results.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Greetings all, especially Hans and Macropod,

First, I'd like to thank you for your replies and apologize for not getting back with you sooner.

As you know, I work in law enforcement & am currently assigned to our Drug Task Force (hence my desire to improve the search warrant form I developed). During a lull in the action, which has since quit and we're now handling several cases in addition to Court appearances, I continued in this endeavor. I now have some more questions for you.

(1) What must I do to get the form field bookmark to repeat/copy over onto the other fields in the form. With the sample form attached to Macropods response, as well as my own form, I cannot get the bookmark to repeat in the subsequent REF field with the form protected or unprotected. The only way I was able to get the text to copy to the other part of the form was to select "Update Field" and when the text appeared the numbering was continued from the original (if there are 4 items listed in the initial/original field the copied text in the REF field starts at 5).

(2) Is there a way to get the REF fields to show shading so I know where they are?

(3) I've noticed that with the form protected, I have to move the insertion point to the form fields using the mouse or keyboard. The tab key just causes the field shading to disappear and the text to tab across the document. If I maually place the insertion point in the form field and then try to tab to another form field in the document, the same thing happens.

(4) Are any of these problems due to the fact that I'm using a Word 2002-2003 document that I've re-saved in Word 2007? When I first submitted my question to WOPR I was working in "Compatibility Mode" in Word 2007. As of yesterday, 3-29-2008, I saved the 2002-2003 form/document in Word 2007 format. I did this, mainly, to see when Word 2007 did with the REF fields since the 2007 Help file said Word 2007 did not use the REF field. I noticed that in the 2007 form/document the field still showed it to be a REF field.

(5) I tried making a template to improve the form but have run into pretty much the same roadblocks. Is this something that would work better or am I wasting my time?

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

In the first place: I don't have Word 2007 so I have no idea how protected forms work there. The following holds for Word 2003 and before:

1) As long as the document is not protected for forms, you can't use it, only change its design. When the document is proteced for forms, the REF fields will be updated automatically when you tab out of the form field they refer to.
Type the numbering you need manually.

2) There is an option for field shading in the View tab of Tools | Options...

3) This description makes me think that you have *not* protected the document for forms.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Hans,

Thanks for responding. I guess I'm going to have to "go back to the drawing board" & also read up on protecting documents, in order to get this learning project in gear. As for the numbering, I found the selections for numbering & bullets when I right-clicked on a form field. The selections were listed below the Font selection.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Hi Steve,

re:
1) The copy I attached to my post was unprotected, but all formfields except the one bookmarked 'Narrative' were checked to 'calculate on exit'. Using Word 2000/2003, you'd change that via Tols|Protect Document, then click on the 'Forms' button. In Word 2007, you'd click on the Developer |Protect Document|Editing Restrictions and choose 'filling in forms' from the dropdown, followed by 'Yes start enforcing protection'. Protecting the document for forms will activate the formfields and the automatic cross-reference updating in any of the versions of Word you're using.

2) The field shading option in Word 2007 is found via Alt-t, o, then clicking on 'Advanced, scrolling down to 'show document content' and setting the field shading option to whatever you want. Note that the REF fields don't seem to show their shading consistently in Word 2007 until the corresponding formfields have been filled in.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Thank you very much for the information. Both you and HansV have been very helpful. I'm making progress so that is a plus now.

I'd like to be able to make the form adaptable to different jurisdictions should we need to draft warrants for locations in neighboring counties. Is there a way to make these fields work in headers? I thought of inserting a field/control & bookmark into the header so that the particular information would be changed automatically throughout the remainder of the form/document? In the alternative, will a bookmarked field copy itself to a REF field inserted BEFORE the REF field? That is to say, will a REF field update when it precedes its related field control?

I've also encountered a problem in getting the field focus to move beyond a drop-down list I made to list selections for the several counties that border ours. When I try to tab over to the next field after making my county selection the focus does not change/move. I have to specifically move the insertion point to the next field in the form with the mouse.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Hello Macropod & HansV,

Another weekend for me to try my hand at developing the affidavit form. I've decided to try it in Word 2007 instead of jumping back & forth between versions and increasing my confusion/frustration. I've attached the document form I've worked on today. I still cannot get past the first County field. I enter the affiant's name, location, and evidence without a problem. Once I tab to the County field and make my selection from that drop-down menu I cannot tab any further. It just stops. Using the mouse to activate the next field does not remedy the matter in that using the tab key afterward just results in the first field (Affiant) becoming active. Also, selecting from the 1st County drop-down menu (where I'm getting "stuck") does not result in any of the County bookmarks showing my selection throughout the document/form.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

When I open the document in Word 2002 (using the Word 2007 converter), the county is fixed text, not a form field. This is probably due to the downwards conversion; unfortunately it means that I cannot assist. I hope that someone with Word 2007 will react.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Hi Steve,

What you've done here is to create a form that uses a mix of the Word 97-2003 Formfields and Word 2007 Content Controls, plus you've saved the document in the newer Word 2007 file format.

Word 2007's Content Controls don't behave in quite the same way as Word 97-2003 Formfields. With the dropdown Content Control you've used, you choose the item, then use the mouse to select the next item. The other issue you'll need to consider is that Word 2007's file format and its Content Controls aren't supported by Word 97-2003 - at least unless the user has the Word 2007 file filter installed.

Attached is a copy of your form in Word 97-2003 format, with Formfields for the City and County, instead of Content Controls.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

Paul,

Thank you very much for your assistance. The form works well with the exception of the County bookmarks I placed in the headers. The headers still do not change when I select the County name in the form body. I can live with that though. It's a small price to pay.

Just FYI, I am using Word 2007 at home but my work computer has Word 2002 or 2003 (the newer computers in my office, mine not being one of them, use Word 2007). The forms I currently use are those I developed & saved years ago while working with Word 97 and/or Word 2002-2003. I tried my hand at streamlining them using form fields some years ago and was, to some extent, successful. I became frustrated when I could not provide all of the automation feature I had sought to use (in my opinion, that inability was greatly due to the poorly indexed Help file which was nearly useless unless you knew Microsoft's terminology). Flash forward several years and my desire to fine tune the forms was even greater. However, by that time, later versions of Word had become available thereby resulting in my mixing fields/controls from differing versions of Word.

So, is the problem that I saved an old Word 97 form in Word 2007 format, or that I placed legacy field controls into a Word 2007 form? What Word 97 control should I have used that would allow me to tab over to the next field?
How may I obtain the file filter your mentioned in your reply? I'd like to get that filter if it is relatively easy to use and will work.

Re: Field Codes (Word 2007/Word 2003)

The problem is - as Paul wrote - that you applied a mixture of the "old" formfields that were available in previous versions of Word (and still in Word 2007), and the new "Content Controls" introduced in Word 2007. The latter behave differently and they will be removed when the document is converted to Word 97-2003 format.

The field referring to the county in the header will be updated when you print or print preview the document. You can also add code to update fields in the headers.